The Muffin Maiden and Mister Stainless
by tbehartoo
Summary: Adrien and Marinette have nick named each other My Muffin Maiden (Marinette) and Mr. Stainless (Adrien) while they were dating. Now that they're getting married, Marc and Nathaniel have been requested to use their talents to put those characters into a story. This is that story!
1. Once upon a Time

**"Mr. Stainless and the Muffin Maiden, it sounds like a comic book." -** a line from "The Chat Righting Reflex" Chapter 7 by Freedom_Shamrock on AO3

\- Story behind the story. The first few years of Adrien being on his own he'd ask the Muffin Maiden (Marinette) how her day had gone and she'd ask Mister Stainless (Adrien) what adventures his day had brought. Shortly after Marinette and Adrien became engaged Adrien approached Marc and Nathaniel about doing a children's book series starring the Muffin Maiden, and why it was meaningful. Without his knowledge Marinette had also approached them about doing a comic book starring Mister Stainless, and why she thought Adrien would like it. Marc and Nathaniel decided to mix the ideas and made a children's comic book series starring The Muffin Maiden and Mister Stainless. It's sold very well and has as many volumes as Emma has years of life.

* * *

 **The Muffin Maiden and Mister Stainless**

Written by Marc Anciel

Illustrations [Image Description] by Nathaniel Kurtzberg

 **Dedication:** To our good friends the Muffin Maiden and Mister Stainless on their wedding day. Congratulations! May your coming adventures together be met with love and laughter.

* * *

 ** _Once upon a time_** in the land of Bakeree there lived a lovely girl known as the Muffin Maiden. Every morning she baked muffins for the people of her town.

[Picture of Marinette as the Muffin Maiden in her house, surrounded by piles of different muffins, handing one of them out the top half of a Dutch door to a smiling man holding a little boy on his shoulder.]

One morning the Muffin Maiden noticed something was wrong with her muffins. They all had burned spots on them! She was very sad. She couldn't give burned muffins to people to eat! Now what would they have for breakfast?

[Picture of distraught Muffin Maiden surrounded by piles of muffins with burned spots, some almost spotless others nearly covered in black.]

"I will go to the queen and tell her about my burned muffins," the maiden thought. So she packed up examples of her poor burned muffins and headed to the palace.

[Picture of the Muffin Maiden packing a picnic basket with very burned muffins as well as slightly burned muffins.]

When she got to the palace there was a long line of people. All of the bakers in Bakeree had burned spots on their food! Every cake, pie, cookie, and muffin came out of the oven with burned spots.

[Picture of palace with a long line of people with various baked goods all of which have a black burns on them.]

The queen made an announcement. "You bakers have got to stop burning all the food!"

"It's not our fault," the bakers cried. "Suddenly our ovens have hot spots and cold spots. They change all the time. We can't bake in sick ovens."

[Picture of a queen looking a lot like Chloe giving announcement from balcony with disgruntled bakers, the bakers closest to the palace look like Tom and Sabine, replying by waving burned bread. Picture of sick brick ovens with red and blue spots all over them]

While everyone was yelling about sick ovens and burned food the court jester suggested they ask the wizard to fix the ovens.

[Picture of court jester who looks like Alix, pointing to a far away place saying, "Why not ask the wizard?"]

The Muffin Maiden was the only one who heard the jester and asked her where the wizard lived. The jester told her that the wizard lived in a tall tower in the Sugar Shard Mountains in the far north. The Muffin Maiden gave the jester her least burnt muffin and headed toward the mountains.

[Picture of the Muffin Maiden and jester looking at a map. And then another of the Muffin Maiden leaving, jester holding a muffin with a burned spot is waving her off.]

As the Muffin Maiden walked along the road she met a sad man at the crossroads. When she asked him why he was crying the man answered that he was far from home and hadn't had anything to eat for many days.

[Picture of Adrien's character holding his stomach as he cries by the road.]

The Muffin Maiden hated that the man was hungry. She told him that all she had was burned muffins, but that he was welcome to eat any of them that he wanted.

[Picture of the Muffin Maiden handing the sniffing man a muffin with the words "Sorry, it's a little burned" coming out of her mouth.]

The man stopped being sad after he ate the food the Muffin Maiden shared with him.

[Picture of the man smiling saying "Thank you" and standing up]

The man asked the Muffin Maiden if he could travel with her on her way to the wizard's house. He promised to help the Muffin Maiden since she had helped him. The Muffin Maiden thought for a moment and then agreed that he could come along.

[Picture of both of them shaking hands.]

The man told the Muffin Maiden that he couldn't remember much about his life before the days he found himself wandering down the road. In fact he couldn't even remember his name!

[Picture of the man talking with bubbles over his head showing him wandering down a road at different times of day and one with him scratching his head with several question marks around him.]

They were coming to the town of Stainlessville so the Muffin Maiden asked if he would like to be called Mister Stainless. The man thought for a moment and then agreed that he would like to have the name the Muffin Maiden had suggested.

[Picture of them passing a Welcome to Stainlessville sign]

In the town the Muffin Maiden talked to many people. All of them were having trouble with their ovens burning their food. They all wished the Muffin Maiden and Mister Stainless good luck with the wizard.

[Picture of the Muffin Maiden and Mister Stainless talking to different people and seeing their burned food. Some are saying "Good luck!"]

Soon the Muffin Maiden and Mister Stainless were at the foot of the mountain. There was a very winding path they had to climb to get to the wizard's tower.

[Picture of them looking up the path to the tower in the distance. Mister Stainless is in front and helping pull the Muffin Maiden up the path]

The Muffin Maiden and Mister Stainless climbed, and climbed, and climbed up the steep path. The closer they got to the wizard's tower, the itchier Mister Stainless became.

[Picture of Mister Stainless going up the path with 1 itch, next 2 itches, then 3 places itching.]

As soon as the Muffin Maiden knocked on the wizard's tower door, Mister Stainless started itching all over until suddenly there was a black cat in his place!

[Picture of the Muffin Maiden knocking on the tower door while being shocked at the sight of a black cat next to her surrounded by smoke and the word "Poof!".]

When the wizard answered his door he was very surprised to have the Muffin Maiden ask him if he knew what was wrong with Bakeree's ovens. She showed him one of the muffins in her basket and asked the wizard for help.

[Picture of wizard that looks exactly like Max talking to the Muffin Maiden who is showing him one of her muffins with a black cat curling around her ankle]

The wizard took the muffin and put it on his crystal ball. He sprinkled a blue powder over it and shot a bolt of lightning from his fingers. The crystal ball changed colors and the wizard consulted his big book.

[Picture of Wizard Max shooting lightning at the muffin while a concerned Muffin Maiden looks on and the black cat has an arched back with his fur fluffed up hissing in the direction of the wizard.]

"This is some kind of curse spell," the wizard told the Muffin Maiden. "I will get to work on a spell to reverse it right away."

The Muffin Maiden thanked the wizard and asked him what had made Mister Stainless change into a cat.

[Picture of Wizard Max saying, "I'll fix it." The Muffin Maiden is saying "Thank you! Do you know about my cat?"]

The wizard knelt down and examined Mister Stainless. He ran a hand down the cat's back then stood up. "He's allergic to magic. He'll be fine once you are far away from my tower." The Muffin Maiden thanked the wizard again and then headed home.

[Picture of Wizard Max petting the cat while peering closely at him as the cat sneezes. The Muffin Maiden is saying "allergic?" as she looks at the cat.]

The Muffin Maiden hurried home to see what the wizard could come up with as a cure for her sick oven. Mister Stainless was glad once they were down the mountain, away from the tower and he could stop itching.

[Several small pictures show Mister Stainless morphing back from his cat form to his human one.]

The next day a thunder cloud formed around the wizard's tower then flowed out to cover the land of Bakeree. Pink and blue rain fell down over the houses and the people hoped that their ovens would be cured of their hot and cold spots.

[Picture from inside the Muffin Maiden's house where the Muffin Maiden and Mister Stainless are eating burned muffins and watching the multi-colored rain come down .]


	2. Witch Way to Break the Spell?

Early the next day the Muffin Maiden tried to bake some muffins. But now the oven had more than just hot and cold spots, it also coughed up smoke of many different colors. Now her muffins had burned spots and smelled like pink and blue smoke!

[Picture of the Muffin Maiden surrounded by muffins with burned spots and having smell lines in pink and blue.]

The Muffin Maiden and Mister Stainless packed up some muffins and headed back to the castle. There was a long line of people there to complain to the queen. The Muffin Maiden headed straight to the jester. The jester took the Muffin Maiden to the captain of the guard to see if she had any ideas.

[Picture Jester Alix ushering the Muffin Maiden and Mister Stainless past the long line to Captain Alya who is looking at a map.]

The captain pointed to the west where the Molasses Swamps were. She had heard that a bunch of witches were living in those swamps. "Maybe they can help," the captain suggested. The Muffin Maiden thanked the captain and gave her the best muffin she had before leaving.

[Picture Captain Alya pointing to a map with an icon of a tree with moss hanging off of it. A speech bubble over her head has a witch hat with a question mark. The Muffin Maiden is handing her a muffin and Mister Stainless shakes Jester Alix's hand while saying "See you later alligator!" the jester is saying, "In a while crocodile!"]

The Muffin Maiden and Mister Stainless walked and walked and walked till they got to the swamp the captain had told them about. A nice person from Copper Bottom loaned them a boat to go visit the witches that lived deep in the swamp.

[Picture of Mister Stainless poling a raft like boat as the Muffin Maiden tries to feed one of her muffins to an alligator. The alligator doesn't want to eat it. A person is waving them off calling, "Good luck!" ]

As they got closer to the witches' cottage Mister Stainless began to sneeze. First it was just a little sneeze, but as they got closer and closer the sneezes got bigger and louder, until the moment that the Muffin Maiden was knocking on the cottage door. As soon as the door opened, Mister Stainless gave one great, big, bone rattling sneeze and turned into a black cat.

[Series of small pictures of MS's sneezing growing from a small sniffle to a full body event and transforming into a cat surrounded by smoke and the word "Poof!" as the Muffin Maiden is knocking at the witches' door]

The Muffin Maiden showed the witches her muffins and explained what had happened first with the hot and cold spots and then with the wizard. The witches agreed to help and started throwing ingredients into their cauldron including the muffin the maiden had shown them.

[Picture of two witches that look very much like Rose and Juleka throwing a series of ingredients into a cauldron that is as tall as Rose in the middle of their front room, including the muffin, while the Muffin Maiden looks on interested in what they're doing. Meanwhile Mister Stainless (cat) is checking out the crow familiar sitting on her perch on the table. The crow is saying "Never more!"]

The witches gave the Muffin Maiden a bottle of the brew they made and told her to try it on her oven. If it worked, they would make more for the rest of the people in Bakeree. The Muffin Maiden thanked the witches and tucked the bottle into her empty basket. She left the rest of her muffins on their table in case they had to make a lot more of the magic elixir.

[Picture is of the Muffin Maiden tucking the bottle into her basket saying "Thank you!" while the witches are smiling at her. The crow is perched on her shoulder. There is a pile of burned muffins giving off pink and blue smoke sitting on their table around the crow's perch. Mister Stainless (cat) is twining around the witches' legs]

The Muffin Maiden hurried home to see if the witches had come up with a cure for her sick oven. Mister Stainless was glad once they were out of the swamp and he could stop sneezing.

[Several small pictures show Mister Stainless morphing back from his cat form to his human one in the boat.]

The Muffin Maiden followed the witches' instructions to use the magic potion on her oven. It stopped coughing up smoke and the hot and cold spots disappeared. The Muffin Maiden was very happy and started baking a batch of muffins.

[Three small pictures: (1)The oven breathing the last of the colored smoke, and one picture each of it losing the hot spots (2) and losing the cold spots (3).]

Halfway through baking her muffins, the Muffin Maiden noticed that her oven started shivering. When the timer went off, she found that all of her muffins had turned into ice cube muffins! She tried a different batch of muffins, but then her oven started overheating! When the timer went off this time, all she had was charcoal muffins.

[Picture of the Muffin Maiden surrounded by icy blue muffins and charcoal, muffin shaped lumps. She is about to cry and Mister Stainless is patting her back saying "There, there". ]

Mister Stainless packed up the basket with both kinds of muffins and urged the Muffin Maiden to go back to the palace once again. The Muffin Maiden made sure to send the witches a note thanking them for their help, but telling them it hadn't worked. Then she joined Mister Stainless on the walk back to the palace.

[Picture of Mister Stainless packing the basket saying, "Come on!" while the Muffin Maiden sends the crow out the door with a note on its leg.]


	3. The Struggle is Real

This time Mister Stainless got everyone that worked in the palace all together. "The wizard in the north couldn't fix the ovens with his magic. And the witches in the west couldn't cure them either. We know this is a magic problem. Does anyone know who else we could ask for help?"

[Picture of a crowded ballroom with queen, jester, and captain very clearly shown. Mister Stainless is on a stool with a speech bubble saying, "Anyone?" while the Muffin Maiden shows her basket of ice and charcoal muffins.]

Everyone thought and thought. Finally the court musician said, "Dudes, what about asking the fairies for help?" The others looked at one another and the queen nodded her head. "We should certainly ask them. Captain, take these two to the royal vault to choose a suitable gift. It's bad luck not to send a fairy a present!"

[Picture of Musician Nino saying "The fairies!" and Queen Chloe saying, "Get them a gift" followed by pictures of gold and gems to Mister Stainless and the Muffin Maiden]

The captain helped the Muffin Maiden and Mister Stainless to choose a tiny crown covered in gems of every color from the vault and then showed them where the Frosty Fairy Forest was on her maps. She made sure they had food and water for their long trip and waved them goodbye as they left the palace.

[Three small pictures- 1) Finding the rainbow crown in the treasury, 2) In the captain's office with Alya pointing to the Fairy Forest in the very far South, 3) Them leaving the palace: Mister Stainless has a canteen and a bag over his shoulder, the Muffin Maiden is waving back to Alya who is also waving.]

The Muffin Maiden and Mister Stainless spent many days traveling south toward the Frosty Fairy Forest. They were able to take a river boat, and a hay cart, but mostly they walked.

[Picture of them on a boat, the cart, and walking. Mister Stainless is smiling and enjoying the trip but the Muffin Maiden has a very straight mouth and unhappy face]

Mister Stainless noticed that the Muffin Maiden seemed to be very sad so he asked her about it. "Why are you so sad Muffin Maiden?" he asked one night as they were camped for the evening.

"How can I be the Muffin Maiden if my oven is always sick?" she replied. "If we can't find the cure for my oven I will have to leave Bakeree and then who will feed my friends muffins in the morning?"

[Picture of the Muffin Maiden and Mister Stainless in sleeping bags next to a fire, one on each side, heads closest to each other. Mister Stainless is asking, "Why are you sad?" and the Muffin Maiden answers, "Who will feed my friends?"]

Mister Stainless thought for a moment and then announced, "I won't give up till I find a cure for your oven! Maybe you can think of something besides muffins for your friends? You are very smart and clever Muffin Maiden." The Muffin Maiden blushed at his compliment and thought about his words.

[Picture still in the sleeping bags Mister Stainless is saying "You're very clever" and the Muffin Maiden has a red face.]

"You are right Mister Stainless," the Muffin Maiden said. "Maybe there is some other way I can feed my friends, but I want this curse to be gone, too. You won't have to look for a cure on your own though. I'll be with you all the way. We are friends forever!"

This time it was Mister Stainless who blushed. "I'm glad you are my friend Muffin Maiden," he said.

"And I'm glad you are mine," she answered. Then they went to sleep.

[Picture of them in their sleeping bags with the Muffin Maiden saying "We are friends forever!" Blushing Mister Stainless is saying, "You are my best friend!"]

Soon after this they were nearing the forest when Mister Stainless noticed he had to wipe a tear from his eye. It felt like he'd gotten a piece of sand in it. As they walked into the trees it felt as if he had sand in both eyes and he was wiping away tears constantly. They stepped into an open spot in the forest and suddenly it felt as if his eyes were made up of constantly flowing streams.

[Small pictures of: one eye watering a little. Both eyes watering a bit more. Both eyes with fountains of tears flowing.]

The Muffin Maiden looked at his face. "The fairies must be very near," she said. "Your face has turned all red and I've never seen you cry like that."

"I'm not crying," Mister Stainless said. "My eyes feel like they have something in them that the tears are trying to wash away."

[Picture of the Muffin Maiden saying, "Your face is red" with a concerned look on her face. "There's something in my eyes" Mister Stainless says as he's trying to use a handkerchief to wipe away his tears.]

"It's very difficult for tears to wash away magic," a deep voice said behind them. The Muffin Maiden and Mister Stainless turned in the direction of the voice. A very tall, big man with green wings on his back was smiling at them.

[Picture of Fairy Ivan hovering over the ground in front of the Muffin Maiden and Mister Stainless. He's wearing a green tunic with a brown jerkin and belt. He's also carrying what looks like a walking stick with a jagged crystal affixed to the top.]

The Muffin Maiden began to explain their problem, but the fairy stopped her.

"You must be feeling pretty miserable being allergic to magic," he said to Mister Stainless. "Especially here in our forest where almost everything has some magic in it."

Mister Stainless just nodded his head.

"Can I fix that for you?" he asked. When Mister Stainless nodded again he waved of his magic wand and surrounded Mister Stainless in a pink bubble.

[Picture of the Fairy Ivan saying, "Want help?" to Mister Stainless and then surrounding him in a pink bubble]

The tears Mister Stainless was crying soon filled the bubble. When they got to the top, the bubble popped and Mister Stainless stood there in wet clothes, but with a big smile on his face.

"I'm not itching!" he cried. "I'm not sneezing or wheezing either!" He hurried to the fairy and shook his hand. "Thank you for curing my allergies!"

[Picture of a soggy Mister Stainless shaking Fairy Ivan's hand saying "Thank you!" And the fairy is saying, "You're welcome"]

"Now that your friend is taken care of," the Fairy said, "how can we fairy folk help you?"

The Muffin Maiden showed the Fairy her muffins and explained about the wizard, the witches, and the queen's request for them to get help. She brought out the rainbow crown as a gift for the Fairy.

[Picture of Fairy Ivan with a speech bubble containing a question mark. The Muffin Maiden is holding out the crown saying, "Can you help?"]

The big Fairy shook his head. "We can't help you. This curse comes from a cold hearted warlock nearby in the land of Fazhon in the east. We can recognize his magic, but ours is not strong enough to stop it." The Muffin Maiden was very sad.

[Picture of Fairy Ivan shaking his head with one hand out in a 'stop' position toward the crown. The Muffin Maiden looks sad and Mister Stainless looks confused.]

"That is too bad," the Muffin Maiden said.

"We'll have to keep going," Mister Stainless added.

The Muffin Maiden thanked the fairy and gave him the crown that the queen sent as a gift to the fairies.

[Picture of Fairy Ivan wearing the tiny crown saying "Are you sure?" with the Muffin Maiden nodding and Mister Stainless saying, "It suits you".]

The Muffin Maiden asked if the fairies might want any of her muffins, but made sure her new friend knew he didn't have to take them. The fairy told her that they would love to have the ice cube muffins for their afternoon snack. The Muffin Maiden gladly gave them all to the fairy.

[Picture of the Fairy holding all of the ice cube muffins saying, "These are great!", the Muffin Maiden is smiling and saying "I hope you like them." Mister Stainless is waving and saying "Thank you for your help!"]

The Muffin Maiden and Mister Stainless started toward the east. They had to stop when the road reached a vast desert. Sand had blown across the road so they had no idea which way to go.

"What should we do now?" Mister Stainless asked.

"I guess we'll have to think about it in the morning," the Muffin Maiden said.

[Picture of The Muffin Maiden and Mister Stainless's backs as they look at the road in front of them being hidden by huge sand drifts.]


	4. Into the Desert

That night there was a snuffling sound that woke up Mister Stainless. Mister Stainless reached over and woke up the Muffin Maiden. "Do you hear something?" he asked.

The Muffin Maiden listened for a minute and said, "Yes I hear some snuffling."

[Picture of Mister Stainless and the Muffin Maiden sitting up in their sleeping bags. Mister Stainless is saying, "Do you hear something?" The Muffin Maiden is saying, "Snuffling?"]

The Muffin Maiden called out into the dark, "Is someone here?"

Mister Stainless said, "Don't be afraid. We're friends!"

[Picture of the Muffin Maiden peering into the dark with a lantern. Mister Stainless is saying, "We are your friends"]

Two yellow eyes appeared in the darkness. Slowly a little ogre stepped into the light of their lamp. Mister Stainless and the Muffin Maiden stayed very still and waited for the ogre to say something. She sniffed their hair and their hands and then softly said, "You want to be friends?"

[Picture of the Muffin Maiden and Mister Stainless standing very still with a lantern. Ogre Mylene is cautiously approaching and is saying, "Friends?"]

The Muffin Maiden told the ogre about her muffins, the ovens, the wizard, the witches, and the fairy. Mister Stainless held out one of the charcoal muffins for the ogre to see. The ogre sniffed the muffin then grabbed it and ate it up!

[Picture of shocked Muffin Maiden and Mister Stainless looking at Ogre Mylene who has a few crumbs of charcoal on her face and fingers and is saying, "Yummy!"]

The ogre offered to take the Muffin Maiden and Mister Stainless to the castle of a very nasty warlock that she knew of on the other side of the sand dunes if, she could have the rest of the charcoal muffins. The Muffin Maiden was happy to let the ogre have the last of her muffins.

[Picture of Ogre Mylene saying, "Follow me friends!" while holding the muffin basket, leading the others toward the mouth of a cave.]

Their ogre friend led them through many twisting and confusing tunnels under the sand. When it began to heat up the ogre told them it was time to rest and that she would wake them up when it was safe to continue on.

[Picture of the Muffin Maiden and Mister Stainless laying on top of their sleeping bags facing each other with Ogre Mylene seated in-between and bringing out a book to read to them. The book has the same cover as the one on the front of this book]

Their ogre friend woke them up when things started cooling down. She told them to hurry through the tunnels so that they could get to the secret entrance of the warlock's lair.

[Ogre Mylene is holding the basket and the lantern as she leads them through the tunnel. She is saying, "Shhhhh, it's a secret" as she points to a far off door at the end of their tunnel. ]

The Muffin Maiden thanked the ogre and asked her if she wanted to come with her and Mister Stainless to find the warlock. The ogre shook her head because she was scared of the warlock.

[Mister Stainless is halfway through the door while the Muffin Maiden is asking Ogre Mylene "Do you want to come?" Ogre Mylene is shaking her head saying, "He scares me".]

The ogre promised to wait by the door to take them back through the tunnels. The Muffin Maiden smiled and waved goodbye as she went through the door.

[Ogre Mylene is waving bye while saying, "I'll stay right here". Mister Stainless's hand is seen pulling the Muffin Maiden through the door.]

They went down the hallway till they came to the end and had to choose to go either left or right.

"We need to turn left," Mister Stainless said. "If we go right we will walk into a trap."

"How do you know that?" the Muffin Maiden asked him as they started toward the left.

Mister Stainless stopped and thought for a moment. "I don't know how I know it," he said, "but I know I'm right."

[Picture of Mister Stainless saying, "We need to go this way" with the Muffin Maiden looking at him with a question mark over her head.]

As they crept along the corridor they felt a vibration in their feet and heard something grunt.

"Hide behind here," Mister Stainless whispered urgently as he moved a wall tapestry aside to show a hidden closet.

The Muffin Maiden shut the closet door most of the way as soon as Mister Stainless was inside with her. Through the crack in the door and the small gap between the wall and the tapestry they could see a huge purple gorilla followed by four red chimpanzees.

[Picture of Mister Stainless moving a tapestry filled with butterflies to show the closet and saying "Hide!" to the Muffin Maiden.]

[Picture from inside the closet with a view of the backs of the ape squad led by Gorilla.]

Once they were sure they wouldn't be heard or seen, they crept out of their hiding place.

Mister Stainless looked pale and was shaking. This worried the Muffin Maiden.

"What's wrong, Mister Stainless?" she asked. "You look like you might be sick."

"I think I know why I know this place." He looked down at his shoes. "I grew up here. This used to be my home."

[Picture of the Muffin Maiden asking, "Are you okay?" to an uncomfortable looking Mister Stainless who is shaking his head "no".]

"What do you mean?" the Muffin Maiden asked.

"I mean that the warlock is my father. He is the king of this land. He is not a nice man to anyone who lives here.

[Picture of the Muffin Maiden asking, "What?" and Mister Stainless saying, "The warlock is my father."]


	5. Happily Ever After?

Mister Stainless suddenly had an angry look on his face.

"He turned everyone in this palace into animals so that they couldn't get away from him. He even made me into a cat to keep me close. When he took the Gorilla and the chimps into the fairies' forest to kidnap their princess for me to marry, I ran away."

He grabbed the Muffin Maiden's hand and began leading her up the hall.

"We need to rescue the fairy and stop his curse on your oven."

[Picture of Mister Stainless holding the Muffin Maiden's hand as they go along the hall. He is saying, "We will rescue them" and the Muffin Maiden is saying, "Yes, we will."]

Mister Stainless led the Muffin Maiden to the bottom of a tower.

"We have to get his wand away from him and break it into pieces. We might even have to burn the pieces. I'm not sure." He looked at the Muffin Maiden. "No matter what happens make sure you get his wand."

The Muffin Maiden nodded.

[Picture of Mister Stainless saying, "Get the wand" and the Muffin Maiden saying, "Okay" ]

"We can't talk once we're going up the stairs," he warned. "The warlock can hear anything that's said on those stairs." He smiled for the first time since they had entered the warlock's lair. "It works both ways though. We can hear anything he says as we go up, so we can know what he's doing before we get there."

"Okay, Mister Stainless," the Muffin Maiden said with a grin. "I know we can do this if we work together."

[Picture of Mister Stainless with a finger to his lips saying, "shhh!" and the Muffin Maiden nodding as she opens the tower door.]

As they climbed the stairs they could hear two voices. One was high pitched and sounded tired. The other was a deep voice that sounded almost triumphant.

"Your power is fading Princess Noroo," the deep voice said. "Soon you won't be able to resist my magic and you will have to join your strength with mine."

"You are right that my power is growing dim," the other voice replied. "What you seem to forget is that a fairy cannot be forced to join you against their will."

"You will join me willingly if you want the pain to stop," the low voice said with a hint of anger.

"I will simply turn into dust motes and float away once my life force is drained," the tiny voice said. "I would rather never see my family or forest again than to help you ruin the lives of your neighbors just to gain their homes and land."

There was a grunt in reply and then a series of high pitched sobs rang down the steps.

[Picture of Mister Stainless and the Muffin Maiden creeping quietly up the stairs. Above their heads are speech bubbles with the words "Join me!" in red and another that says "never" in purple.]

Mister Stainless ran up the last few stairs and all the Muffin Maiden heard was the surprise of the low voice as Mister Stainless must have tackled the warlock. She rushed up the steps to see Mister Stainless wrestling on the floor with a person in a dark purple robe. They had knocked several items off of the work bench in the room. The wand was being held high above the warlock's head out of reach of Mister Stainless.

[Picture of two men wrestling on the floor. The view of Mister Stainless's back blots out most of the other man, but we can see parts of his purple, flowing robe as well as one arm being held far above both men's heads holding a wooden stick.]

The Muffin Maiden looked around the room. She saw a cage with purple lightning bars holding a fairy that was no bigger than her hands hanging in the corner. A large goldfish bowl containing an octopus surrounded by writing quills and papers was on one end of the work bench while several other wizard supplies covered the other side of the table.

[Picture of what looks like a bird cage with bars made of purple lightning housing a small Fairy Sabrina dressed in a ragged purple dress with disheveled hair hangs in one corner of the room. In the foreground we still see the figures struggling on the floor. Behind them is the work bench. One end has an octopus in a large goldfish bowl surrounded by her reports, seven arms are holding quills while the eighth arm is holding onto the bowl that has some water splashing out of it. There are bottles and containers on the other end, some have fallen over and spilled their contents.]

Suddenly the low voice called out, "Guards! Guards!"

The Muffin Maiden worked fast. She wiggled past the two figures on the ground to pick up the goldfish bowl. The water hitting the warlock startled him, but not as much as the octopus landing on on his face with a satisfying "Splat!" As soon as the warlock dropped his wand, the Muffin Maiden snatched it up and broke it against her knee.

[Picture of the warlock with an octopus clinging to his head as the Muffin Maiden breaks the wand over her knee. Mister Stainless and the fairy are cheering for the Muffin Maiden.]

A thick, purple smoke filled the room followed by black sparks the flew in every direction. When the smoke cleared the warlock and the octopus had disappeared!

[Picture of the room the interior the edges are filled with thick purple smoke and black sparks are shooting out the window as well as all around the room. The Muffin Maiden is coughing while looking around. Mister Stainless is on the floor saying, "Where did he go?" The fairy cage has burst open and the fairy is flying toward the Muffin Maiden while shouting, "I'm free!".]

The gorilla stopped at the top of the stairs. He looked around and then picked Mister Stainless off of the floor and pulled him into a big hug. At first the Muffin Maiden was concerned, but she saw that Mister Stainless was laughing so she decided things must be okay.

"Why is he still a gorilla?" the Muffin Maiden asked. "Wasn't his spell broken?"

"He's always been a gorilla," Mister Stainless told her. "The warlock just made him understand and follow his orders."

[Picture of the Gorilla holding mister Stainless who is smiling and saying, "He's my friend!". The Muffin Maiden is astonished and saying, "He's still a gorilla!" and Fairy Sabrina is hiding behind the Muffin Maiden's hair.]

Mister Stainless and all the people who had once been animals searched the castle from top to bottom, but no one could find the warlock. A celebration broke out all over the castle and spread into the city below the castle walls.

[Picture of the castle and the city below with streamers and confetti with a big sign hanging from the castle that reads, "Goodbye, Warlock!"

The Muffin Maiden and Mister Stainless were looking out over the celebration when the Muffin Maiden turned to Mister Stainless.

"If the warlock was the king of this place," she said, "does that mean that you are the prince?"

Mister Stainless looked down at the floor. "Yes, I am the prince here."

"And now that the warlock is gone does that mean you have to stay?"

[Picture of the Muffin Maiden and Mister Stainless looking out the tower window. The gorilla is on the far side of Mister Stainless and Fairy Sabrina is on the far side of the Muffin Maiden. The Muffin Maiden is saying, "Are you a prince?" and Mister Stainless is nodding "yes" with a frown on his face.]

"Muffin Maiden," the prince said, "now that the warlock has been defeated I am free to leave this place. May I come back with you to the land of Bakeree?"

"But you are the prince of this place. Don't you think you should stay and be the king?" the Muffin Maiden asked.

[Picture of Mister Stainless holding the Muffin Maiden's hand asking, "Can I come home with you?" and she is saying, "Shouldn't you stay?"]

The prince shook his head. "I can remember all of the time I spent here now, and there is nothing that makes me happy in this place. I will let the people here choose their next leader." He blushed as he said the next words. "Being with you is what makes me happy. I'd rather be Mister Stainless in Bakeree with you, than the King of Fazhon alone."

[Picture of Mister Stainless shaking his head. His speech bubble has a crown with a big red "x" through it.]

The Muffin Maiden smiled at the prince. "I would love for you to come and live in Bakeree with me and be my Mister Stainless."

She looked around and a frown began to form. "But what about all of the curses that flew out of the warlock's wand when I broke it?"

[Picture of the Muffin Maiden smiling and then of her frowning saying, "But the curses!"]

The fairy princess spoke up. "If you come home with me, my Grandfairy Fu can give you magic stones to reverse those curses! They can't be very strong with the warlock gone."

[Picture of Fairy Sabrina saying, "My family can help!" to the Muffin Maiden.]

The Muffin Maiden smiled again. She looked at the prince. "What do you say Mister Stainless? Do you want to come with me to return Princess Noroo to her family and get some help to clean up this magic mess?"

[Picture of a smiling Muffin Maiden saying, "Want to help me clean up the curses?" with Fairy Noroo fluttering near her face]

Mister Stainless smiled. "I'd love to Muffin Maiden. Do you think that when we get back to the palace in Bakeree we could have a big party with all of our friends?"

"I'm sure that can be arranged," the Muffin Maiden said.

[Picture of a smiling Mister Stainless saying, "Yes!" followed by a speech balloon saying, "Party?" The Muffin Maiden is saying, "Yes"]

"And do you think that right before we have the party the queen could make us married to each other?" Mister Stainless asked as his face turned red.

[Picture of Mister Stainless holding the Muffin Maiden's hand and blushing. His speech bubble shows a wedding ring.]

The Muffin Maiden laughed. She smiled. She blushed almost as much as Mister Stainless! Then she gave Mister Stainless a great big hug and said, "I think that can be arranged, too."

[The Muffin Maiden is giving Mister Stainless a big hug and shouting, "YES!" while Fairy Noroo and the Gorilla clap.]

Mister Stainless made sure the people of Fazhon chose someone to be in charge that would be good to the people then he went back to the Frosty Fairy Forest with the Muffin Maiden and the fairy princess. They made their way back to the palace where they were greeted by the palace bakers who wanted to thank them for saving all the ovens.

[Three small pictures: 1) Mister Stainless saying "Vote for someone good", 2) The Muffin Maiden, Mister Stainless, and Fairy Sabrina entering the forest, 3) Bakers Tom and Sabine greet the Muffin Maiden and Mister Stainless with a cake that has "Thank you!" written on it in front of the palace.]

Mister Stainless asked the queen if she would make the Muffin Maiden his wife and let them throw a party for all their friends in the ballroom. The queen said that she would be happy to have such a party for the heroes of Bakeree.

[Picture of Chloe Queen saying, "Of Course!"]

The Muffin Maiden and Mister Stainless invited all their friends to come to the wedding and the party afterward. And if they haven't stopped, they are still celebrating!

[Last big picture the ballroom with Mister Stainless in a fancy, black suit and the Muffin Maiden in a red wedding dress at the center. All of the characters, except for the warlock, are in attendance. Included among the guests are Marc and Nathaniel. Marc is saying, "I've got to write this down" and Nathaniel is saying, "Quick, loan me your napkin so I can draw this!" Everyone else's words form a giant "Congratulations!" across the top of the picture.

And they all lived happily …

[One small picture in the center of the page of the warlock's shadow with the words "I'll show them..." underneath it]

… ever after?


End file.
